WestJet extends flight cancellations to Tuesday (July 2) as strike drags on

The mechanics strike at WestJet has rolled into Sunday (June 30), triggering further flight cancellations at the height of the Canada Day long weekend.

In an update shared late Saturday, WestJet once again named the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) for disrupting the travel plans of millions of Canadians.

The airline says the strike, which began Friday night, has now cancelled 407 flights, impacting more than 49,000 travellers.

READ MORE: WestJet ‘outraged’ as mechanics go on strike, ‘severe’ disruptions expected

“Today has been incredibly challenging for all of us at WestJet. Every flight cancellation we are forced to issue represents hundreds of guests, who are being impacted by the continued reckless actions of this union,” said Diederik Pen, president of WestJet Airlines and group chief operating officer, last night. “In the face of immense adversity, our teams are working hard and delivering a safe and controlled operation.”

WestJet said it will continue parking aircraft through June 30 as it works to reduce its operating fleet to some 30 aircraft by Sunday evening.

Flight cancellations are already extending to Tuesday (July 2), however, as per the following summary the airline has posted:

	Total cancellations
Thursday, June 27, 2024	18
Friday, June 28, 2024	25
Saturday, June 29, 2024	282
Sunday, June 30, 2024	68
Monday, July 1	11
Tuesday, July 2	3
	Total flights cancelled: 407

A month of turbulence

The AMFA, which represents aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) and tech ops, first served WestJet with a 72-hour strike notice on June 17, prompting the airline to initially cancel nearly 50 flights before both sides agreed to resume negotiations.

On June 19, the AMFA made a commitment to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and to WestJet, that if WestJet agreed to bargain, it would agree to rescind its strike notification.

After making submissions to the CIRB, the parties confirmed that they would schedule four days of bargaining for June 25 and 26, July 2 and July 3

On June 25, after less than one full day of bargaining, AMFA again issued a strike notice that would come into effect Friday at the start of the long weekend.

The federal government, on June 27, then ordered the airline and its mechanics into binding arbitration to resolve their dispute, leading the public to believe that a strike had been averted.

But despite the Minister’s order, the AMFA commenced a strike anyway, triggering this latest round of flight cancellations.

“The union remains engaged in dialogue with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and the airline to resolve this impasse,” the AMFA wrote in a statement posted Friday evening. “The AMEs were hopeful this action would be unnecessary but the airline’s unwillingness to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable.”

“While the AMEs and their union are eager to get back to work, the timeline for that is very much in the hands of WestJet Management.”

“A misuse of the right to strike”

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech took to his LinkedIn page on Saturday to air his frustration.

“In my 25 years in aviation, I have never encountered such an unreasonable counterparty. Calling for a strike despite the Minister ordering arbitration is a misuse of the right to strike,” von Hoensbroech wrote.

Strikes and lockouts are “important and legitimate tools” to apply pressure during collective bargaining processes, the CEO went on to say.

“However, once the parties are in arbitration, there is no more bargaining taking place, so a strike no longer influences the outcome,” he wrote. “By still going on strike, the union is doing nothing more than creating damage and disrupting potentially hundreds of thousands of guests, without any benefit for their membership.”

In separate comments made during a press conference earlier this week, WestJet’s CEO called the AMFA, which is based in the US, a “very different” union.

He said the AMFA lost the majority of its membership in the US “because of their unreasonable behavior.”

“They’re trying to push into Canada and get access to Canadian airlines. They’re now taking Canadians hostage to make their marketing platform (and) become a union in Canada. I’m not sure we want that,” von Hoensbroech told reporters on June 27.

Under WestJet’s proposed agreement, its AMEs would have been the highest paid in the country, with a 12.5 per cent wage increase in the first year of the agreement, and a compounded wage increase of 23 per cent over the term of the agreement, the airline said.

von Hoensbroech said the average aircraft maintenance engineer at WestJet made $109,000 in 2023.

“That’s a fair amount of money,” he said, adding that the best paid engineers make between $150,000 and $170,000. “They are already among the best paid in Canada.”

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan addressed his situation, writing Saturday on social media that he is reviewing the Canada Industrial Relations Board’s decision, “which is clearly inconsistent with my direction to the Board.”

“I will be looking at additional steps to protect the interests of the employer, the union and all Canadians travelling over this holiday weekend,” O’Regan wrote.

In a follow-up post on X early Sunday morning, Minister O’Regan said he met with WestJet and the AMFA, telling them to work with the Canada Industrial Relations Board to resolve their differences and get their first agreement done.

“There’s a lot at stake here,” he wrote. “Canadians need this resolved.”

WestJet customers are advised to check the status of their flight prior to leaving for the airport. Visit WestJet’s Guest Updates page for more information regarding flight status, travel changes and more.

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